Baseball – Miguel Cabrera, Bob Rush, Ryan Braun, Jurickson Profar

Cabrera’s Tigers teammate, Alex Avila, told ESPN’s Baseball Tonight on Friday that Miguel Cabrera has lost 20-25 pounds in his offseason workouts. That would put Cabrera in the range of 250-255 pounds heading into camp. Another source echoed that math. Cabrera estimated his weight last Spring Training at about 270 pounds. However, his weight fluctuates over the course of the season. http://motorcitybengals.com/2012/02/11/miguel-cabrera-working-hard-to-silence-haters/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed  

Bob Rush (b. 1925), a two-time All Star, pitched for the Cubs and Braves (and briefly for the White Sox) over a 13-year career.  He started Game #3 of the 1958 World Series for the Braves (which he lost to Don Larsen and the Yankees, with the aforementioned Ryne Duren picking up the save). http://fairandunbalancedblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/baseball-losses-in-2011.html   

Want to know the strangest part about the Ryan Braun case? The best outcome for baseball might be if a three-member panel upheld Braun’s positive drug test, forcing him to serve a 50-game suspension. That’s right, baseball might be better off if the reigning National League MVP missed nearly one-third of the season than if he reported to spring training as if nothing ever happened. At issue is the integrity of baseball’s drug-testing program. Some will question that integrity if Braun is cleared, suggesting the sport maintains a double standard for its superstars. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Ryan-Braun-Bud-Selig-Major-League-Baseball-PED-drug-testing-appeal-braun-case-shows-MLB-not-star-struck-on-enforcement-021012

He turns 19 in about two weeks, but when Jurickson Profar reports to Spring Training later this month, his name will be among the most talked about. Profar has accomplished more in his brief career -- and life -- than a lot of baseball veterans. His first full season in the Minors saw him bring home an MVP award, a Futures Game nod and several Hitter of the Year trophies, prompting MLB.com to name the shortstop as the Rangers' No. 1 prospect.  Profar, a switch-hitting infielder signed by Texas in 2010 as a free agent from Curacao, aims to become the next big league star from the island. The country, part of the Netherlands, has produced players such as Andruw Jones, Jair Jurrjens, Randall Simon, Kenley Jansen and Shairon Martis. And like Jones, Profar hopes to make his mark in Texas some day soon. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120209&content_id=26626954&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb